Bear Wrestling

Ethan went bear wrestling! I think the bear lost.

Christmas Pics

Finally! We have some pictures for you! Our laptop is about to crash because we have so many pictures and videos of our son. We are going to have to get an external hard drive to store all of them. SO, since I have so many I tried to narrow it down to some of my favorite from the past week, so enjoy!

Ethan and his new Hippo walker that eats shapes as it goes!
Ethan posing by his new bounce and spin Zebra.
"I LOVE SPORTS!"
"So why can't I get in here and play with daddy's playstation?!"
Someone needs to buy him a tent! He sits under anything he can fit under! Playing with a new toy from Christmas.

The day after Christmas

It is the day after Christmas and all the excitement is gone. NOT! I don't want to just stop after the 25th. My goal is to keep the excitement up. My poor household has been sick over the past 3 weeks and we are finally all well! I feel like it is just now Christmas time. We actually have energy and excitement! Ethan got loaded up with toys that are now appropriate for his age. Goodbye rattles and stuffed animals.... hello bounce and spin zebra, balls, and trucks! He is so excited about all his toys and I am too! Now maybe he won't think our shoes, our bookshelves, and TV are his toys. (wishful thinking) Matt got another playstation for a gift which I am happy for. Truly I am. My husband could be doing worse things than playstation, so I let him have his one toy! His had broken and he loves to sit down an unwind sometimes by playing some games. I do have to say that at one point I was hooked on Tiger Woods golf as well! I got a nice video camcorder which I am so happy about! Right now all our videos are from our digital camera and are about 30 seconds long! So now we can have videos of our precious baby! I had hoped to have one for his 1st birthday and now I do! We also were blessed with so much more and we are truly thankful to our friends and family for that.
Most of all we are just so thankful for GOD and how he is obviously at work in our lives! He is just blessing our church tremendously and it gives us such joy to see HIS provision and that it is only HIM that could be doing it. I am just in awe that a God could love us so much and remain so faithful to us when we are so quick to become unfaithful!
Lastly I am so thankful for my family. I love my family so much! My in-laws as well as my blood relatives! My parents are amazing. They are so selfless and have given so much to my brother and I. I could NEVER begin to describe how much they mean to me and how proud of them I am. My daddy just got a new job opportunity at his work where he is in charge of like 6 branches of his store and I felt like the parent who was so proud. All along i've known how much he is worth but I am just happy to see that reflected in his job. THEY know how much he is worth! My dad is one of those people that just gives so much to show his love. He is constantly making foods and giving to us! You know you're loved when you stop by their house and he makes your favorite foods or raids his own refrigerator and pantry to see what he can give you! I just love that man more than he'll ever know. And my mama... she shows her loves in her HUGS! The more she loves you the tighter she squeezes! She spoils you rotten and I LOVE our girl time. Matt used to joke to me that mom knows more about our marriage than he does because I tell her everything. She is my best friend and the first person I call when I need to share something. It's so hard to love people so much and want to be able to show or tell them and just feel like everything is inadequate.
During this Christmas I have done a lot of reflecting and i'm just thankful. Thankful for Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us. Thankful for my wonderful husband and my baby boy! Thankful for my family and friends. Life isn't always easy or joyful but I know that I have so much more than I could ever ask for and that just makes me happy.
p.s. Pictures coming soon! Our laptop is hopefully fixed, so we'll be able to post some soon!

Holiday Hoopla

I was tagged by my friend Sheila to participate in this Holiday Hoopla where I name 12 random things about Christmas. The past few weeks have been a bit hectic, so I will actually sit down and give it a try while I have a spare minute. So here it goes...
1. I LOVE Christmas, although this year I feel like it snuck up on me.
2. I HATE Santa, and clowns and any other character thingy. I will teach Ethan to just run away!
3. I LOVE Christmas shopping and buying gifts for people to show them my love!
4. Our Christmas tree looks like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree...P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C!
5. My husband and I LOVE watching the movie ELF and can quote it verbatim.
6. I LOVE getting together with family... although I do have to say I have a hard time remembering all of my husband's extended family's names!
7. The snow! HA HA! I am praying for snow so we can use the little sled I bought Ethan!
8. I HATE the tacky blow-up Christmas decorations that go on your lawn. I am SO sorry if you like them, but everytime I see them I just want to pop them! They are so huge and hideous and I especially love it when people have like 8 on their lawn and you can't even see their house!
9. I prefer white/clear lights over color.
10. I LOVE opening presents and experiencing the element of surprise!
11. EATING all the yummy foods!
12. JESUS- our gift and the true meaning of Christmas!!!!

Getting better!

While Ethan isn't out of it all... he is getting better! Praise the Lord! His little fun personality and laugh is returning. My husband texted me a picture at work yesterday that said, "he's back" and it had a picture of him smiling so big! It made my day. He is keeping food down. While his diareah is still here, it has subsided some. Although he was trying to take a nap this morning and I went to check on him and let's just say there was no spot that wasn't covered in his crib! Poor baby! I know we will all be happy when this is all gone. Then maybe i'll post about something different... ha ha. My poor hubby is sick now. I mean I guess we all need a turn or it wouldn't be fair. He is supposed to give the sermon tomorrow at church, but he isn't feeling well at all. He was up last night throwing up. Today while both of my boys were napping I sprayed down the house with lysol and wiped it down with clorox wipes. I even opened the front door to air out the apartment though I didn't keep it open long because it was quite frigid. Through this all I still thank God for our health. It seems like it has been a rough few weeks, but we truly are blessed more than we could ever deserve.

Sick Saga update

2 vomits, and 24 diapers later we end up at the Urgent Care again today. Matt called the Dr. about Ethan today and they recommended that we bring him in to do some blood tests and give him IV fluids. When we got there the Dr. said she thought he was starting to get dehydrated. They were going to do blood work first. That's where it all began. Apparently Ethan has veins like me... they like to hide. My poor baby got poked on his arm, on one ankle and then the other. It was SO hard to see him go through that. They COULD NOT get a vein. He screamed so loud and cried and it was so horrible to be in there, but I knew I needed to be with him. They eventually decided to give up and get a finger prick. So they pricked his finger and basically milked it like a cow trying to squeeze as much blood out without having to poke him again. They ran some tests and everything seemed to look ok. All in all that is a good thing, but it was hard for him to have to go through that only to find out that there really is nothing we can do for him but wait it out. They ended up not giving him an IV. Wouldn't be able to get it in, probably would had to go to the ER, and the tests said he wasn't as dehydrated as they thought. Somehow his body is retaining some fluids even though in our eyes they are all coming out! They gave him another antibiotic shot in the leg and the powder in his mouth to prevent more vomiting. Any time I leaned away from him during all this to get out of the way or rest my back, he would scream and turn towards me like it was life or death. He did NOT want me leaving his side. We were sent home with a written plan of what to give him and how to give it. He is on a liquids only diet where we feed him like every 20 minutes an ounce of clear fluids.... pedialyte, chicken broth, watered down gatorade, jello, etc. So far he has done great. He hasn't vomited at all, but still has diareah. Poor baby's butt is SO raw from it. He screams every time we wipe him. Actually he starts screaming now just when we lay him on the changing table because he knows what is coming. The Dr. loaded us up with special soy based formula so that when we do start introducing it to him again it will be a lot more gentle than regular formula because the lactose can be hard on his tummy. It's just a mess. I know he will get better and I am truly trying to not let it change my heart or emotions, but it is draining. It is SO hard to see your baby like this. I know there are worse things in life.... worse sicknesses and surgeries, so I try to count my blessings. But I am SO looking forward to the day he gets better! Where we don't have to do 5 loads of wash, go through 30 diapers, or be up all night with a crying sick baby! Hopefully this will all be over by Christmas. My poor husband is supposed to preach this Sunday but hasn't had time to prepare. Through all of this we know God is with us and there is a greater plan than we can see at this moment. Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for our family!

Spoke too soon

UGH! Last night when I was home by myself Ethan threw up his biggest vomit yet! AND he had a blow out. I am past the point of trying to be optimistic.... I am ready for this to be OVER! There is nothing worse than to see your baby sick and not being able to do anything about it. :(

Christmas Cards

This is the 3rd year in a row that I haven't done Christmas cards. Not because I haven't wanted to, but because we wait too long and then they never get sent. The past 2 years I have bought the cards, and even typed out a rough draft of a letter to send with it....but did we ever get them out?! NO! I need some sort of Christmas card intervention program. So just know that I truly love you guys out there, but don't be looking in the mail for a card from me. Maybe next year...
p.s. Ethan is feeling better. He is done with the vomitting, and now if we can just master the diareah then my husband would be in heaven. He wasn't too into cleaning up so much today if you know what I mean. Our poor carpet has been through the works this week!
One thing I loved is that the Dr. from the pediatric urgent care called to check up on us tonight, I LOVE that she did that! Very thoughtful!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Urgent Care visit #2

We just got back from the Urgent Care again. Ethan threw up again today and has started with diareah. I took his temp. and it was 101.8 which his Dr. last night wanted us to call if it was above 101. So I called and told them that he hasn't had hardly any fluids today, isn't peeing, and seems to be getting worse. They wanted us to come in to see if he needed IV fluids. Praise the Lord he wasn't there yet. Although at this rate he could be soon, so please pray for him! She gave him a powder on his tongue that is supposed to stop the vomiting. She also looked in his ears again and said they've gotten much worse over night and that may be why he isn't eating, because it hurts him to swallow. So they gave him a high strength antibiotic shot as well as numbing drops for his ears. So now we're home again and he is wiped out in his crib. I am trying not to be just an anal first time mom, but I think Matt and I have handled it all well. He was resisting his bottle as well as the pedialyte today, so we're praying that his ears will start healing and he will eat more so he won't become dehydrated. Poor guy, has the stomach bug as well as an ear infection...in both ears. Say a prayer for my baby and our family that we would be healthy and happy and enjoy family and friends during this holiday season.
I wonder if Jesus ever got an ear infection?!

10 months old a sick again!

Wowsers! It has been an eventful few weeks! Ethan turned 10 months old yesterday! I can't believe it! He is growing TOO fast! Last night was a rough night with him. He woke up every half hour crying. It is so hard to see your baby crying and not knowing why. I know his 1 year molars are working their way through, so it could have been that. He hadn't pooped all day yesterday so I thought perhaps he had an upset stomach. I just couldn't do anything for him. I tried rocking him, holding him, snuggling him and even putting him in the bed with us. But last night = no sleep for our household. Well today brought more unrest. He threw up basically every time he fed him. Not just the light spitting up babies do, but VOMIT! My poor wonderful husband called me at work just aching for our little boy who obviously wasn't doing well today. We took him to urgent care when I got home and we had to sit and feed him an ounce of pedialyte and wait 15 minutes to see how he handled it. Then we gave him another ounce and waited again and did that 3 times. Praise the Lord he kept it down. The Dr. thinks he just has a touch of a stomach bug and gave us further instructions on how to care for him. So we stopped by the store and picked up some more pedialyte. She did discover that he has an ear infection as well, so we have a prescription for an antibiotic for that. My poor precious baby was zapped tonight. I gave him a bath to rid him of germs and he was begging to be put to bed. So I pray that he sleeps well tonight and that he will get better soon! Meanwhile, i've got to figure out how to clean up a vomit stain in our carpet. The first time he got sick he was in his crib so I washed all his sheets and whatnot, but this time he threw up after eating banana mixed berry baby food and it is leaving a stain. Any suggestions?!
p.s. Thank you to our great friends Cary and Amanda who are loaning us their laptop while we figure out what is wrong with ours!

Computer is down

Well our computer is acting up so I am blogging from my parent's house to give you some updates/insight into our happenings.

• I am feeling a lot better! Thankfully neither Matt nor Ethan have gotten any of what I had and I praise God for that! I should be able to wear my contacts & makeup again on Wednesday because the pink eye should be gone!
• Ethan turns 10 months old tomorrow! I cannot believe it! I feel like I should be planning his 1st birthday party because it will be here before I know it.
• Our laptop is acting up, but PRAISE THE LORD Matt just finished copying the over 4,000 pictures we have of our son onto CD's. So if we can't recover our laptop, at least we have the pictures saved elsewhere.
• Matt is preaching the Christmas before Sunday so I am praying for him and the message that he will give that day.

So much is happening the next few months that I know it is going to fly by and it will be March before we know it. Thank you Lord that it finally feels like winter today.

I am just blown away by God and his provision and how much he is at work in and around our lives. Our church is collecting an offering for Christmas where 50% will go to overseas missions, 25% will go to church plants, because we are one and we understand how much it means to be blessed financially. The remaining 25% will go towards adoptions. There are so many families adopting in our church that it really hits home with us so our church decided to sponsor that. NONE of the money will be coming to us, it is all going to be given away. Our Pastor prayed and felt like he should make a $10,000 goal for our average 90 people/Sunday church. So far (and the month isn't over yet) our church has collected over $18,000!!!! I'm just blown away. Why am I blown away when God tells us he will provide for our needs and he knows the desires of our heart? Matt and I's whole life is a testimony to that. Another thing before I go... our church recently started leasing out office space for the church office. We had thought it would be nice to have a little kitchen area in the office for a sink and coffee area. To make a long story short, a business that is moving next door to our office space is donating their kitchen/sink for free to us AND paying for it to be installed! My goodness! I hope we can turn all these blessings back to HIM and be a help to others. Off to get my baby who just woke up from a nap...

Hump Day

This week has been a rough week and i'm hoping that today truly is a hump and we are getting over it! The beginning of the week I had a bad sore throat and thought I was getting strep again. It moved down into my chest and I left work early Monday and stayed home Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon I get a call from my poor mom who said she has been throwing up and other fun things all day and needed to go to the Dr. A coworker of hers took her to the Dr. and I went to go pick her up. We found out she has the full blown flu. Today I went back to work but I woke up with a sore eye. I thought I might have pink eye. To make a long story short, I got off work early to go to the Dr. because my eye started oozing, and find out I do indeed have pink eye. When I got home from the pharmacy I wasn't feeling so hot and I threw up once. Went to go eat a slice of bread to settle my stomach and threw up again! Goodness! What a week so far! Tomorrow I have to stay home from work and I started an antibiotic for my pink eye. I am praying that this is it and I am on my way on the road to recovery. I am also praying that my husband and baby doesn't get any of this! I don't know if any of you have ever had pink eye, but this is awful! It's pretty painful and disgusting. I hope my next post is a happier one with fun news instead of not-so-fun news. I'm off to bed to get rest and hopefully recover in all aspects of my body!

I feel lost...

My parents took Ethan for the day and over night tonight. Although Matt and I have been on the run non-stop doing grocery shopping, Christmas shopping, and cleaning...I feel like a part of us is missing and it makes me sad. Ethan has stayed away from home before but this time is the first time where I truly miss him and would go pick him up in a heart beat. He is our son and I love his presence in this house. His laughter, noises, and crawling from room to room.
Lately i've been thinking A LOT about what it means to be a stay at home mom and the ministry that you can have. As you may know, I recently had to return to work. It was a hard adjustment but I was starting to handle it better. Well PRAISE GOD things are about to change so I can be at home with him more. Our church is taking Matt on more hours and he is getting a job in the community to make relationships and connect with others. Which means I get to stay home more. I didn't think I took my staying home for granted before, but boy did I! I made a secret promise to God that if he would bless us and enable me to stay home more, that I would NEVER take it for granted again. Lo' and behold the Lord already knew my heart and things were about to unfold. I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to be home with my baby and be such an active part in raising him up. I've started thinking about all the things I could do staying home with him. Organizing a mom's walking group, going to the library now that he's getting older for reading time and connecting with women there. I can't wait to go for walks again with him in the mornings (when it gets warmer of course) and teach him all about our world and the God who created him and loves him more than he will ever be able to comprehend. I don't want to be a lazy mom- not to be confused that I won't enjoy resting and relaxing sometimes- but I don't want to stay shut up in my house never interacting with others or allowing my son to interact. I have a new excitement and a new appreciation for the gift that I was able to have for 8 months and now am going to have again in a few more.
So anyhow, new excitement and new things going on in our lives and i'm loving it. I still want to work a few hours a week because i've built relationships with several women and I love working with my 3 year old's. But if you can't tell already, I am SO ready to spend more time with my precious baby boy!!!! Well i'm off... just wanted to share.

Little sneak

So Ethan opened a Christmas present already. We just received a package from my Aunt in IL and Ethan was obsessed with the present. He played with the box, took the bow off, tried to eat the bow, and flipped the box all over the place. He eventually ended up opening it (maybe witha little help from mommy) and he LOVED the gift. So thanks Great Aunt Linda for the gift, sorry we didn't wait until the 25th. Now I know we can't stick anything under the tree yet because Ethan will get to it!

"Wow, what's this?!"
"What present, mommy...I don't see a present."
"Check it out!"
"It plays music!"
"I LOVE MY NEW TOY!"

So ridiculous, it's funny

Well... let me just tell you about our cars. Our cars cause me a lot of stress and laughter. My husband has a 94' Honda and I have a 96' Toyota. They have been great cars and I really am thankful that we've had them. However, lately it has just gotten comical. The cars pick and choose when they want to start. One day mine won't start, then a few days later his won't start. Then they will miraculously start. I used to get so frustrated and pray that God will provide us with a new car... but now I just laugh...and still pray that prayer. A few nights ago we decided to go buy me some running shoes because I want to keep this up, and I need a good pair. So Matt was going to get them for me for Christmas... we go to get the car to have a family night out at the mall, and his won't start. So we switch Ethan's car seat and put it in my car. Off to the mall we go, I get my shoes, and we come home. So now i'm using my car. Well, we go to get in the car to go to Ethan's DR. appointment which we're already running late for.... and my car won't start. We walk over to Matt's car to see if it will crank up... it decides to work. So we switch the car seat again. And off we go. This cycle has been going on for about 2 months now. We've gotten the cars looked at, my starter was replaced, and now it's just so ridiculous that is it funny. THANKFULLY, the cars take turns deciding not to work and they've never left us in a place that was inconvenient. Matt's poor car is on it's last leg. It shakes so bad, but we look at it this way- free massage while sitting at a traffic light! I know we'll start a trend and they'll start adding that feature to all the new models. Just watch ;) My car is my first and only car. I remember getting it when I was a Sophomore in high school. I've paid everything on that car except the down payment and a little help here and there when i've needed it.
Anyhow, I really know that these have been a blessing to us and I try not to be ungrateful, but i'm ready to move on. I'm ready to have a new (to us) car! So please join with me in praying that SOMEHOW, SOMEWAY this will happen!
p.s. Ethan is starting to feel better and that makes mommy and daddy SO happy!

Sickness #2

We just got back from the doctor. I had to take off early because Ethan has been snotty and congested and it has gotten worse. We suction his nose all day long and he's been sleeping with a humidifier but it hasn't seemed to help much. Good thing he isn't addicted to paci's or night time might equal less sleep. He can't breath through his nose. I didn't know if I was just being an anal first time mom, but I wanted to take him to the Dr. because we've tried everything and he seems to be getting worse. Well he has a bacterial infection in his sinuses. His sinuses are very small because he's an infant, but the doctor said his nose is all swollen in the inside and all his snot and mucus is causing infection and inflamation. So he is starting an antibiotic today and will hopefully be getting better soon. I can deal with a sick baby, but not when they look at you and you can just tell they don't feel good. The past two days he's been so sad looking. Hopefully this winter won't be a sick one for him, because he's been real healthy overall since he's been born. He got the flu shot, so we'll see. Off to go wipe his nose because I just heard him sneeze and lately sneeze=LOTS OF SNOT! (Sorry to gross you out!)

I'm in love!

ELF PARTY

Tonight we went over to our friend's house to watch ELF. This is the 3rd annual ELF party if I remember correctly. Last year I was very pregnant and I remember watching all the kids playing and thinking of how this year would be different.... and it was! Ethan was crawling around and we even dressed him for the occasion. (Thanks grammy and papa for the cute outfit) We enjoyed hanging out with our friends Chip and Christy and their daughters Anna Kate and Emily. We also loved spending time with Jamie and Stacy and their son Nate as well as Jen and Jason and their daughters Claire and Ava. It was a full house! We ate pizza and yummy sweet treats and enjoyed watching our families interact. If you haven't seen ELF yet, you need to! It is quite funny.

I think I found a potential Christmas gift for Ethan- he LOVED this book!
Pictured left to right: Ethan, Nate, Emily, Anna Kate, Claire, and Ava. Note sweet little Anna Kate is a month older than Ethan, but she is quite petite. Nate is almost 2 and Emily, Claire and Ava are almost 3.
Our little elf
Claire enjoying the movie from the toy basket.

17 hours and counting

I've now been awake for 17 hours and needless to say I am heading to bed very soon! I wanted to post some pictures of Ethan's latest and greatest. We had a good lunch with my parents. They made us Thanksgiving leftovers. There is nothing better than turkey sandwiches after Thanksgiving! We also had a great visit with Ethan's Great Granddaddy who turned 90 today. We are so blessed with such wonderful family! Praise the Lord.

Thanksgiving day with Grandmother
Granddaddy's 90th birthday
Grandmama loves Ethan!
I cannot believe how old Ethan looks in this picture-his first time playing with a car and he loved it-thanks Erin for the cute shirt!
Random picture of Ethan discovering his shadow- he talked to the wall for 20 minutes!
Yum-nothing like sticks of processed meat from a jar!
"I LOVE MY TURKEY STICKS!"
Tupperware fun- I have to say that daddy staged this picture.
Now here's my ham playing!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

I LOVE Thanksgiving and Christmas time. The next two months will be filled with great times with family and friends. We will eat, drink (sweet tea), and be merry! Yesterday we drove to Rocky Mount to spend the day with Matt's mom's family. We had a great time of catching up with family and it was BEAUTIFUL! This morning my mom and I were up shopping with all of the other nuts at 4:00a.m.! WE LOVE IT! We love having fun together and getting great deals. We were done shopping by 8:00 a.m. This afternoon we are driving about 2 hours to go visit Matt's Granddaddy who is turning 90 today! Sunday we will be going to the 3rd annual ELF party with some friends of ours. We all get together and watch the movie ELF, although now it consists of watching our children run and crawl around while ELF plays in the background! Before I know it this weekend will be gone! We're trying to figure out how to decorate with having a child now. I know my sister-in-law put a baby gate around her tree when her son was young. But not sure what we're going to do. Ethan is such a beast, he might just pull the whole gate down! HA! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Take time to stop and reflect on your life and Thank God for all your blessings! Because we truly don't deserve any of it!

:(

It was inevitable. With a brick fireplace and a mobile baby boy, we knew he would get hurt sooner or later. I was just hoping it would be later. Tonight he was crawling towards the fireplace and I went to stop him before he would get hurt and bam... he hit his head on the brick. He started screaming and crying and it immediately swole up and bruised a little. Matt and I were frantically deciding what to do. We grabbed ice and watched him. After a quick call to my mom and asking her advice, we think he'll be ok. It still made my heart sink. I hate that I can't put him in a bubble and keep him safe the rest of his life. This little thing reminded me to pray for him more often and his future. I know that God never promised us that bad things wouldn't happen, but I just need to let go and entrust Ethan to Him.
On a lighter note, if it bruises bad, i'll definitely get a picture to post. I have his whole life on camera, so no worries! ha ha.

18 months old

Today my son has been alive for as much time outside of my stomach as he was inside of my stomach. The past 18 months have been life changing for Matt and I. I praise the Lord for his work in our family's life! On Father's day 2006 we found out that we were going to be parents! It was an exciting day because we didn't know if we would be able to conceive children because of past medical procedures. I woke Matt up at 3:30a.m. to tell him I was pregnant after taking a test, we then drove to Walmart at 4:00a.m. to buy another test to be sure. My pregnancy (although filled with a trip to the hospital in the beginning, gestational diabetes, and finding out I had a blod clotting disorder) was a GREAT one! I LOVED being pregnant. Praise the Lord for creating our bodies in ways that we can feel our precious baby growing inside us before they ever come into our world. The little hiccups and the not-so-little kicks are amazing! I could tell early on that my boy was going to be strong and big. He always measured 3-4 weeks bigger than he was supposed to be in my stomach. A blessing in disguise was that due to my blod clotting disorder, I had to have ultra sounds monthly to make sure a clot was not in the placenta or the umbilical cord. I LOVED having this because we got to see him grow every month! We were happy to find out that we were having a boy.

The day Ethan was born was unexpected. Because of his large size my doctor's highly recommended that I have a C-section. So we scheduled a c-section for the 19th of February although his due date was the 24th. I went in for a check up on Friday the 16th and found out I was in "labor". Because I had braxton hicks contractions so frequently, I didn't think anything of the contractions that were being read on the screen. The Dr. informed me that I was having contractions every 6 minutes and she wanted to check my cervix. Lo' and behold I was 4 centimeters dialated and had no clue! I was sent immediately to labor and delivery. I called my husband who was at work to tell him I was in labor. He thought I was joking, but after repeating it again, he knew I was serious! I LOVED hearing the excitement in his voice! Today was the day we would be meeting our baby boy! He made it to the hospital in record timing. I was sent to the triage like area. Apparently everybody picked that day to have a baby because the hospital was SO busy they were delivering babies in the pediatrics ward and even some ICU rooms! I went in at 11:30a.m.. Family came to the hospital waiting in excitement! I remember hearing the poor girl next to me who was yelling during contractions. I remember laughing in my heart and praising God that I wasn't going through that! We found out that they were going to be performing my c-section around 4:30p.m.. Because the hospital was so busy they didn't have a room for me, so they were waiting for some to clear out. I didn't mind. The afternoon quickly went by and they came to prepare me for surgery. Matt walked along my bedside until we entered the operating room. I remember laying there and them walking me through hallways and hallways feeling like we were going to a secret room or something. It seemed like it took forever, as soon as we got to the door, I kissed Matt goodbye. The doctors wanted to get me stabilized and get my spinal block done and the curtain up before Matt could come sit by me. As soon as I was rolled through the door, I remember the cool air hitting me. I felt like I was in a movie where I was greeted by like 8 people, I could only see their eyes because of the operating masks. I loved seeing their eyes smiling. I felt like mine was the first baby they were ever going to deliver because they just all had a happy demeanor. I got my spinal block and immediately my legs went numb. They laid me out on the table and I could feel them move my legs and cover me in blankets. As soon as they got me stabilized I heard them tell Matt it was ok to come in. He sat by my head and held my hand. It was strange to feel all sorts of tugging and hearing certain sounds, but not feeling the pain at all. They told me that I might feel some pressure and before I could even think about it, they had brought my sweet precious baby into this world. I heard suctioning and then a loud cry! Here was our 9 lb 5 oz, 21 inch long baby! Matt and I just looked at each other, told each other we loved each other and the tears began to flow from both of us! Matt got to take Ethan and hold him up to me. I barely got to see him before they wanted to carry him to the nursery. Later I found out that he was having some hard time breathing although his apgar score was a 9! Matt kissed me and left the room while they sewed me up. It all happened so fast! Now I was officially a mommy and I remember excitement and nervousness sweeping over my heart!

It took me and Ethan a while to recover. Because he was in a body that had high blood sugar a lot, he was dependant on me. When he was born his blood sugar dropped and he needed to be fed a few bottles of the glucose water. My legs weren't regaining feeling as fast as was expected so although he was born at 5:10p.m, I did not get to hold or see him until around 9:30 that night. I kept telling Matt that I wanted to be the first to hold him. The family got to watch Ethan being washed and fed the glucose bottles. We knew he was going to have a content personality when he didn't scream and cry during or after his bath. My heart skipped a beat when I heard the door open and they rolled my sweet baby into the room. He was swaddled in a baby blanket and had a yellow warm baby cap on. Here was the pride and joy of our hearts!

The next 2 days seemed to go by quickly. My recovery room was on the pediatric floor because the maternity ward was full. I was up and walking the next day which truly helped with my recovery. We even left the hospital a day earlier than expected because we were ready to get home with our son! I remember sitting in the backseat and holding onto his carseat like a hawk protecting her babies. Matt has never gone the speed limit until that day, ha ha! We had precious cargo to care for!!! Life hasn't been the same since that day! I just never fully realized how much I could love someone the way I do when I look at him. Matt and I are so proud of our baby boy! He is such a happy and sweet little guy. There's so much I could say about Ethan. My mind just can't even grasp the fact that if I love this little person SO much, how much MORE does the God of this universe love us?! Having a child is a blessing and I pray that Matt and I would raise him up knowing and learning about the God who loves us. Happy 9 months, son! I pray and hope that I will get to experience this feeling again...but maybe in a few years ;)

Dental Hygiene

I talked before about my son brushing his teeth so I wanted to post some pictures of my boy in action. He LOVES it! It still amazes me that he went from having 3 teeth to having 6! He has another on the way. Once their teeth start coming in they come in full force!

Shocking kiss

You know it is winter time when there is static in the air. Well as I was leaving for CPR training tonight I went to give my husband a kiss on the lips and we both shocked each other. It was a loud zap and it was so shocking that it made my eyes water! I knew our relationship was electric, but not THAT electric ;)

Sunday night

It's Sunday night and I feel like my husband and I are just now resting for the weekend. Friday night we had a staff dinner for church. We then left early Saturday morning to drive down to Charlotte to visit my brother and his family. We were there all day and had our yummy Thanksgiving dinner with them since they are spending the real Thanksgiving date with my sister-in-laws parents. I enjoyed playing with my 2.5 year old niece and snuggling with my other precious 2 month old niece. We put Ethan in the car after his bottle at 8:00p.m. that night and drove back home. We went to church this morning, out to lunch with a couple from church, then i've been cleaning and doing laundry all afternoon. Ethan was in rare form this evening. He was SO fussy for him. He hasn't been like this ever. It wasn't all that bad, it was just constant whining. Nothing would make him happy. Well one thing eventually made him happy...brushing his teeth! He loves it when we brush his teeth, then we give him the brush to chew on so he can brush his own teeth. So anyhow, all that to say, I feel like i'm just now resting and I have to get up again tomorrow to start the work week all over again. Oh well, such is life! I praise God for family and a job because that means I am blessed with love and His provision!
Other fun news, I am really getting into running. My running partner and I have started running 4 mornings a week. Last week I strained my calf muscle so i've been resting it and I almost hate not running because I feel like I will be behind when I start again this coming week. One thing I would like for Christmas is new nice running shoes. You really have to get good shoes if you're going to run. I am finding this out very quickly. I am debating on trying to run a half marithon next year. I mean I would love to do it for many reasons: lose weight, stay in shape, bragging rights, ha ha. But I want to be realistic and know that it is going to be really hard. So we'll see. Well I am getting sleepy and might head to bed soon. I know i'm not blogging as much as I used to, but i'm not at home that much anymore. I have to admit that it has been hard reading all my friend's blogs who are stay-at-home moms because I really miss that. But I know this is where God wants our family right now and knowing that my husband gets to have precious time with our son like I did the first 8 months makes me really happy! Off to bed!

My son's two new best friends

So Ethan has made 2 friends that he loves. They play with him and make him happy. He laughs and smiles at them an enjoys their company. Let me introduce you to mr. door stopper and mr. toe! Ethan has discovered our door stopper and LOVES to play with it. He hits it and watches it go back and forth and smiles at it. I got video of him doing that for a long time. Then he's always played with his feet but he has socks on or footie Pj's on a lot. Well today he was barefoot and I was changing his diaper and he started sucking on his big toe!!!! He latched on and sucked on it with vigor. I just laughed. I had to put his paci in his mouth, after taking pictures of course, because he would have sucked his toenail off if I let him! It was so funny! He is developing such a little personality. He is so sweet and loves to snuggle and smile and "talk" to us but at the same time he is a tough boy! He is so strong and loves to crawl and stand so I know he will be active. I hope he turns out like his daddy!

Dollar Tree- Holla!

OMG! (Sorry, had to write that) I just got back from the dollar tree and i'm in love! The daycare I work for allows us a $30 a month budget. Well how much can you get for $30 these days?! Well if you go to the dollar tree you can get about 27 items!!!!! I got water color paint, packs of paint brushes, crayons, scissors, packs of pencils, pencil sharpeners, plastic bins, chalk, and so much more! It is pefect for kids toys and school supplies. There are workbooks, flash cards, toys and things that are so much cheaper than Walmart and Target and is the same quality. Now i'm not saying that everything in the store is high quality, but I am definitely not the dollar tree snob I used to be! I will definitely be going back!
p.s. I lowered Ethan's crib to the lowest setting, I was just picturing him standing up and tumbling over the rail and that can not happen to my baby! He's growing TOO FAST TOO QUICK!

A whole new ball game

Now that my son is mobile it is a whole new ball game. He is crawling a lot and pulling up on furniture. I looked away for a second while I was putting dishes away and he had crawled over to our fire place and was pulling himself up onto the brick! We just can't leave him in the living room to play while we walk into the next room for a minute like we used to. I love the fact that we can sit on the floor and he will crawl over to us and climb in our lap! I can't wait for the day that he comes running up to me yelling with excitement, "mommy!" I know that day is coming soon! He also is a teething maniac. He is getting 3 teeth on the top now! One day he has 3 on the bottom, within a week he has 3 on the top, totaling 6 teeth! I think they've all come through now, except maybe one that is right below the surface! No wonder he's been waking up a night some, because his mouth is in full speed producing teeth! Here are some pictures of our crawler going through his tunnel and pictures of him "napping". Let's just say I walked into the room to check on him thinking he was asleep and this is what I saw! Looks like I need to drop the crib on the lowest setting for sure.

Ethan's first halloween

Yesterday was a fun day. We decided to dress Ethan up (Thanks Stacy for the costume!) and take him out with his cousin Jackson. Ethan was a giraffe and Jackson made a great dragon. We had fun trick or treating with him and then we stopped by my parents house for a surprise visit. I am going to have another photo shoot with Ethan in his costume, but here are some pictures for now.
When I got home from work today and got Ethan up from his nap I was changing his diaper and noticed that he is getting 2 teeth up top! One of the middle ones has already come through and the one next to it is right there too! He is growing up TOO FAST! I love him so much and he is just changing and growing so quickly. We are really enjoying him and love him more than ever thought possible. He is pulling up on furniture and LOVES to stand. It is so fun to see him discover new things. I just never imagined loving a child like this and I praise God for him and my family!

"Camping"

This weekend we had fun "camping". The reason why I say "camping" is because I don't really consider it roughing it. I was practically raised in a tent. My family and I camped all growing up. We have the best family memories from camping. However when I was in high school my parents "grew out of" the tent. So they invested in a 5th wheel camper. So "camping" now consists of beds, heater/ac, tv, kitchen, and bathroom. No longer do I have to venture out in the middle of the night to the nearest bush, but I can now flip on a light switch and sit on a toilet. Ahhh! Anyhow, my parents went up and stayed in their camper and they rented a camper for us to stay in. We went to a place in Virginia and it was beautiful! The weather was perfect fall weather... they just got like 10 inches of rain, but the sun was shining and it was high in the 50's-60's with lows in the 40's. It was a bit chilly and windy but we had fun relaxing and enjoying our family time. The leaves are changing and are so pretty. We enjoyed taking many walks as well as watching Ethan crawl across the camper floor! Ethan did well, but the last night was not so fun. He ended up in the bed with me and Matt ended up on the couch. Ethan did not want to sleep. I would be laying there trying to fall asleep and he would start laughing. It was funny. I enjoyed snuggling with him, but boy was I tired this morning. So now the unpacking/laundry and cleaning begins to get ready for this week!

Papa's idea of a good fall picture
A picture from one of our walks
Family picture in a Willow tree
Papa and Grammy decided to take the picture standing in front of the tree rather than up in it!
Ethan enjoying a camp fire... every time Papa or Grammy would chop wood he would laugh and laugh. It was so funny to see him chuckle over it!